Waiter sticks up for special-needs child by refusing service

A Houston restaurant is receiving widespread praise after its staff refused to serve a group that had some unkind things to say about a special needs child.

Mom Kim Castillo wrote on her Facebook page about the experience and shared it with 29-95.com on Thursday.

Castillo said she was dining at a restaurant called Laurenzo’s with her family, including her son Milo, who has Down syndrome. A family of four came in and asked to be moved from the booth next to Castillo, then left the restaurant shortly thereafter.

“As it turns out they told the waiter, ‘special needs kids should be kept in special places,’” Castillo said. “The waiter promptly told them he was offended by their comment and refused to serve them.”

“Thank you from an Ohio mom of a little boy with Down syndrome,” Kathy Thut said. “I’ve never been to Texas, but if I ever get there, you’ll be getting our business ”

When the story started to receive national attention, Castillo contacted 29-95.com to add a few more words.

“We had not been in for a few weeks so all the waiters were coming in to say hi to Milo,” she said to 29-95. “We, adults, were encouraging Milo to say hi and show off some of his new vocabulary. Was he loud? Maybe a little in the moment, but honestly, the adults at the table were three times louder than us.”

“If he had been obnoxious, which like any other 5-year old he can be, I wouldn’t have thought twice about the family asking to move. No one wants to sit next to a loud, disruptive child but it had nothing to do with him having special needs. He is just a kid and shouldn’t be discriminated against. He certainly didn’t ask to be born with Down’s syndrome.”